Youth Engagement
Opportunities for Solano High School Youth
Sustainable Solano has grown our youth engagement across our various programs, including new Fellowships and internship opportunities for Solano high school students. This page outlines the upcoming opportunities and training sessions.
High school students must participate in one of the certification sessions offered in-person or online before starting a Sustainable Solano internship. These engaging certification sessions explore environmental challenges at a global, community and individual level, bringing the discussion to bear on youth leadership and engagement around environmental justice. Certification sessions are free to attend and open to any Solano high school student, and are listed on the right side of the page. Students can attend a certification session even if they are not ready to apply for an internship.
Students interested in internships should fill out this application form.
Questions? Contact Allison Nagel at allison@sustainablesolano.org

Scroll down or use the links below to learn more about each internship opportunity.
Community Resilience
Urban Ag & Gardens
- Solano Gardens Urban Ag Internship (Countywide)
- Solano Sustainable Backyards Internship (Countywide)
- Benicia Community Gardens Internship (Countywide)
Youth Cooking/Local Food
Community Resilience
Environmental Justice Leadership Fellowship
Location: Vacaville
Commitment: 12 weeks (January 2023-March 2023)
Stipend: $150 monthly
Application deadline: December 2022
Fellowship participants will study environmental data for the local community, discuss the environmental challenges and potential solutions for their communities, and participate in four hands-on workshops to help beautify the Rocky Hill Trail while planting native plants and capturing rainwater to mitigate some of those challenges. They will use what they have learned to shape community presentations on the environmental challenges and potential solutions.
Weekly meetings are planned for 5 pm Thursdays, starting Jan. 19.
(This program includes the certification material as part of the Fellowship.)
Youth Air Protectors
Location: Fairfield
Commitment: 20 weeks (October 2022-March 2023; this is the first of three cohorts)
Stipend: $150 monthly
Application deadline: Applications are currently closed, but students can apply for the next session.
Air Protectors will research the air quality challenges for their communities, create outreach campaigns and support community-based projects centered around air quality, including air sensor installation and air quality mitigation projects, such as planting trees or improving community spaces to make them more appealing for foot and bike transportation. Participants will help create an air quality plan for the City of Fairfield that incorporates what they have learned through research and community engagement.
Weekly meetings will rotate between in-person at the Fairfield Civic Center Library and online. Meetings are 5-6 pm Wednesdays. Planned start date: Oct. 5
(This program includes the certification material as part of the schedule.)
Urban Ag & Gardens
Solano Gardens Urban Ag Internships
Location: Fairfield (Various locations throughout the county will follow)
Commitment: 12 weeks starting Jan. 16
Stipend: $150 monthly
Application deadline: Jan. 6, 2023
Interns will learn multiple ways of growing food and gain valuable food production experience. Interns will learn plant needs, methods of planting and harvesting, crop planning, composting and market gardening. They will gain insight into permaculture the Soil Food Web and square-foot gardening. They will help establish and maintain community garden hubs that empower and support communities traditionally without access to fresh food.
Solano Sustainable Backyards Internships
Location: Fairfield (Other locations throughout the county will follow)
Commitment: 10-12 hours/month for 12 weeks (October 2022-January 2023)
Stipend: $150 monthly
Application deadline: Positions are currently filled, but applications can be submitted for the next internship session.
Interns will gain a basic understanding of permaculture, learn how to install and maintain sustainable landscapes, build healthy soil, capture rainwater and reuse household greywater when appropriate. They will also participate in community engagement. They will help to install demonstration food forest gardens, promote events, support at events, write about the experience and work on a small project related to sustainable landscapes.
Benicia Community Gardens Internships
Location: Benicia
Commitment: 12 weeks (Dates to be determined)
Stipend: $150 monthly
Application deadline: Positions are currently filled, but applications can be submitted for when there is an opening.
Benicia Community Gardens has two garden sites, Avant and Swenson, and the Benicia Community Orchard, all conveniently located within walking distance. These gardens offer an opportunity for local residents to rent garden beds, and provide a special community gathering space. Interns will support the role of these gardens within the Benicia community, helping to keep them healthy and beautiful, while also exploring ways to share about the gardens with community members and recruit volunteers to help with maintenance. These internships not only offer hands-on gardening experience, but also a way to take on a leadership role in the community.
Youth Cooking/Local Food
Solano Gardens Youth Culinary Arts Internships
Location: Vacaville (other locations throughout the county will follow)
Commitment: 12 weeks (Oct. 18, 2022-Jan. 17, 2023)
Stipend: $150 monthly
Application deadline: Applications are currently closed, but students can apply for future sessions.
Interns will learn how to prepare fresh local food, explore concepts of food as medicine, and help us pilot a prepared food enterprise in the county. Interns will grow their comfort in the kitchen and learn basic food preparation skills, and explore concepts of food nutrition and recipe creation. We will work together to cook in large batches and interns will take food home after class to be shared with their communities. Students will receive their food handler’s card through our coursework.
Weekly meetings will be held from 4-6 pm Tuesdays at Ulatis Community Center in Vacaville. Interns will also participate in a weekend field trip to a local farm. Participants are encouraged to join the Oct. 16 certification session.
Local Food Cooking & Outreach Internships
Location: Various locations throughout the county
Commitment: 14-16 weeks (Dates to be determined)
Stipend: $150 monthly
Application deadline: Applications will open in November 2022
Interns will learn about the larger local food system, Solano farmers operating within that
system, and how to prepare healthy, seasonal produce. They will learn how to teach others about Solano-grown specialty crops (fruit, vegetables, nuts and herbs). They will participate in an immersive culinary training course, design a creative message about specialty crops that will be shared with young audiences, and teach one or two simple classes to either their peers or a younger audience.
Certification Sessions
High school students must participate in one of Sustainable Solano’s free certification sessions to apply for an internship. Certification sessions are offered in-person and online quarterly.
During certification, students will participate in Pachamama Alliance’s Awakening the Dreamer course and reflect on their vision for the world through a collage-art project, explore One Planet Living principles as a sustainability framework and approach to shaping personal action plans, and learn how to research environmental challenges within their communities.
Upcoming Sessions
In-Person
We are currently scheduling additional in-person certification sessions in Fairfield and Vacaville in January 2023. Please check back.
(1 online meeting required after the in-person session)
There is some work required outside of meetings
Online
More online sessions planned for 2023
There is some work outside of meetings
Want to participate in a certification session but have a schedule conflict? Reach out to Allison Nagel at allison@sustainablesolano.org

Learn More
The Beginning of Flood Resiliency in Suisun City
Over the past two years, Sustainable Solano has focused on spreading awareness of the dire need for climate resilience in Suisun City, making education regarding flooding accessible for the city’s residents. Generously funded by PG&E through the Better Together Resilient Communities, Sustainable Solano’s Resilient Neighborhoods program installed two flood-resilient gardens in Suisun, kicked off a now annual climate event in the city, led a high school internship program, taken residents on a dozen Flood Walk tours, and empowered the community to tackle flooding via the creation of a community-based action plan.
New Program in Fairfield Will Tackle Poor Air Quality
For too long, residents of Fairfield have had to shoulder a burden that, in large part, remains unseen by the naked eye — poor air quality. A new program from Sustainable Solano, with funding from the California Air Resources Board, invites you to join the grassroots movement to ensure everyone in Fairfield can breathe clean and safe air.
Outgrowing Chicken Tenders
A student participant and our program manager both reflect on the Youth Cooking Pilot Program